In the summer of 2015, a Cubs executive scoffed at the idea of the White Sox trading Jeff Samardzija back to the North Side, even though he would only be a rental player for a team lurking in the wild-card race.
Last offseason, the White Sox set the starting point for a Chris Sale deal at Kris Bryant-plus before shipping their ace to the Boston Red Sox.
Just last week, another Cubs official cycled through the trade-deadline possibilities, brought up Jose Quintana’s name and figured: No chance.
Why would the White Sox want to help a young, star-studded team that already owns Chicago? Quintana would address the most immediate need and biggest long-term problem for the defending World Series champs.
And then White Sox general manager Rick Hahn, who never really worried about the crosstown stuff, texted Cubs president Theo Epstein on Sunday, the same day as $155 million ace Jon Lester gave up 10 runs in the first inning of an ugly loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field. An underachieving team headed into the All-Star break with a 43-45 record, trailing the Milwaukee Brewers by 5.5 games in the National League Central.
“We had texted a couple times sort of more generally about what we were looking to do,” Epstein said Thursday. “I had kind of mentioned to him what players of theirs we had interest in – including and especially Quintana – back after the draft (in June). There wasn’t much follow-up. Frankly, I thought the chances of a deal between the two clubs of this magnitude were slim at best, really a long shot.
“When Chris Sale was being put to the market, I called Rick and told him we were very interested, and was told that it would have to be a huge package, including Kris Bryant, or there was nothing to talk about. And Kris had just won the MVP award.”
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Epstein laughed on the conference call with the Chicago media: “I figured it would be next to impossible to get a deal done for Quintana, especially without taking away significant pieces off our major-league team.
“So then when Rick texted on Sunday, he basically said he was getting close with someone else and narrowing in on the final suitors for Quintana: Did we want to be involved?”
Of course, the Cubs would be interested, since Quintana is an All-Star lefty, a 30-start, 200-inning machine and under club control through 2020 for about $34 million. But, Epstein responded: “What would it have to look like?”
“Expecting that it wouldn’t go very far, like the Sale/Bryant talks didn’t go very far,” Epstein said. “And then (Rick) laid out a deal that was something that we wouldn’t do, but it was intriguing enough to pursue.
“That led to a lot of back and forth, and he was great to deal with. Once it was clear that they were serious, it was just like negotiating with any other club, and I commend them for putting baseball first and engaging. I thought it was surprisingly easy to deal with them.”
Whether it’s the White Sox flipping assets or the Brewers shopping All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy last summer, the Cubs have talked about the added “tax” that usually prevents deals within their own city or division. This cost four minor-league players, including the light-tower power of Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease’s 100-mph fastball.
“Like with any other trade, when you’re acquiring elite talent, you have to have the best offer,” Epstein said. “The team that ends up selling the established talent is always going to work hard and draw it out until they get the very best offer. And when they get the best offer, they’re going to move on it, so I have no doubt that we had the best offer.
“But I thought it was a very reasonable baseball trade, given the quality of the pitcher that we’re getting back and the years of control involved with the contract. He’s just about a perfect fit for us and what we’re trying to do.
“I don’t think in terms of a crosstown tax. I just think it’s the price of doing business for acquiring this type of quality, controllable starting pitcher.”